Curly the Skeleton
Curly the Skeleton is the former mascot of the Goosebumps franchise. He has been featured on a number of Goosebumps memorabilia. On most memorabilia, he is depicted with round glasses, a scarf, a pink Mohawk, and red eyes. On book covers and calendars, he is depicted with a white buzz-cut and black pupils. He is also often depicted alongside his pet bulldog, Drool, on these covers. Curly's white buzz-cut look was designed by ''Goosebumps'' illustrator, Tim Jacobus, and his pink Mohawk and red eyes look was designed by Scholastic. In addition, Curly appeared on the covers of all six Tales to Give You Goosebumps books, three Goosebumps Monster Edition books, and on the cover for the Goosebumps Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Scholastic's website referred to Curly as "The coolest skeleton in the graveyard." Creation When the Goosebumps series first began, its publisher, Scholastic, had difficulty finding merchandisers who were willing to promote the books. This was because, although the series did eventually introduce recurring monsters, it never had a fixed cast of main characters. In an interview with former Goosebumps cover artist Tim Jacobus, Tim discussed the creation of Curly. Jacobus had been asked by Scholastic to create a mascot for the series, so he designed a long haired skeleton-ghost for the cover of the book ''Tales to Give You Goosebumps''. Many people, including Jacobus, did not like the skeleton's initial design. In order to improve the character, it was given a new haircut and a full body. This character soon became known as Curly the Skeleton. Since his creation, he has appeared on many of the book covers and products involving the series. History Curly made his debut on the cover of Tales to Give You Goosebumps in 1994. On the cover (illustrated by Tim Jacobus), Curly is depicted as a ghostly figure with long curly hair (hence the name "Curly"). Scholastic wanted Curly to become the mascot of the ''Goosebumps'' franchise, so he was a given a more marketable design in subsequent covers. He appeared on all of the covers to the Tales to Give You Goosebumps and Goosebumps Monster Edition books with a human skeleton body, blue eyes, and a white buzz-cut. Scholastic, however, changed aspects of his design for merchandising, such as giving him red eyes, glasses, a scarf, and a pink Mohawk and ponytail. Curly was considered the official mascot for the franchise starting in 1995, appearing on many forms of merchandise and even appearing as the narrator at the beginning of the Goosebumps Collector's Caps Books. His status as a mascot came to end when the Goosebumps franchise halted in 2000. Curly returned to the franchise in 2009 through minor appearances. He appeared in the book How to Draw Goosebumps and in a flash game on the Goosebumps website titled Ghost Hotel. Curly, along with other Goosebumps monsters, was planned to be featured in a new Goosebumps merchandising line made by Mezco, which was showcased in a Toy Fair 2009 press-kit.ASM's Toy Fair 2009 Gallery - mezco-press-kit - Goosebumps Curly was to be featured on a 3D bookmarkASM's Toy Fair 2009 Gallery - mezco-press-kit - Goosebumps - 3D Bookmarks and released as a mini-figure a part of the Goosebumps Pocket Horrors series.ASM's Toy Fair 2009 Gallery - mezco-press-kit - Goosebumps - Pocket Horrors However, nothing has been heard of the line since, so it was presumably canceled. While Curly did not make an appearance in the 2015 film Goosebumps, he appeared on the Vinyl special edition cover of the film's soundtrack using the Jacobus design, which hadn't been used in seventeen years. Curly appears in Monsters at Midnight, a ''Goosebumps'' comic book series. He is one of the monsters under the command of Slappy the Dummy while the protagonists are trapped in HorrorLand. In late-2017, Curly appeared as the narrator in the mobile game Goosebumps HorrorTown where he is shown interacting with Slappy. Curly also appears in the second arc of the comic series, Download and Die!, which was released the following year. Curly first appears in issue #1 as a sticker option in the Tickled Pink filter available on the mysterious phone found by the protagonist, Mitra Salar. He later appears in issue #2, in a hospital inside a display case labelled "The Human Skeleton" while Mitra is visiting her injured brother Mehrdad. He taps the case from within, but only manages to make Mitra feel like she vaguely recognizes him from somewhere. He later appears in issue #3, where he helps Slappy attempt to reclaim the phone, though they are also forced to contend with the Creeps. After driving back the Creeps, they make another attempt to reclaim the phone only for it to get destroyed by Mitra, which also causes both Sybil Wicked and an evil clone of Mitra to disperse. When Slappy got shattered by Kyra using the gymnasium bleachers, Curly can be seen crumbling to pieces. A skeleton walking a skeletal dog makes a brief cameo in the film Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, possibly a reference to Curly and Drool. In the tie-in book Slappy's Return, a Goosebumps-themed Halloween mask of Curly is one of the costumes brought to life by Slappy.User blog:NicktheDummy/Breaking news: this picture from the Slappy's Return book! Trivia *R.L. Stine has a replica of Curly which he puts outside his apartment on Halloween. *According to the ''Goosebumps'' Fan Club's newsletter, Curly's birthday is in April. **In another edition of the fan club's newsletter, Curly says that — while he isn't married — he has three sisters: Skelly, Boo, and Nightshade. *Some pieces of merchandise, as well as an advertisement for the Goosebumps Fan Club, misidentify the skeleton chef on the cover of Say Cheese and Die! as Curly. According to artist Tim Jacobus, Curly's first appearance was on the cover of Tales to Give You Goosebumps. **Most merchandise that feature Curly use artwork of him holding a copy of Say Cheese and Die!, which may have added to the confusion. Gallery Book covers Tales to Give You Goosebumps (Cover).jpg|''Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' More Tales to Give You Goosebumps (Cover).jpg|''More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Monsteredition1.jpg|''Monster Edition #1'' Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps (Cover).jpg|''Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Still more tales to give you goosebumps.jpg|''Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Monsteredition-frightlightedition.jpg|''Fright Light Edition'' More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps.jpg|''More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Monsteredition3.png|''Monster Edition #3'' It Came From Ohio!.jpeg|''It Came from Ohio!'' Tales 6.png|''More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Goosebumps Postcard Book I front 1996.jpg|Goosebumps Postcard Book PostcardBookII.jpg|Goosebumps Postcard Book II Tim Jacobus' artwork More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - artwork.jpg|''More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - artwork.jpg|''Even More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - artwork.jpg|''Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps - artwork.jpg|''More & More & More Tales to Give You Goosebumps'' Monster_Edition_1_-_artwork.png|''Monster Edition #1'' Fright Light Edition - artwork.jpg|''Fright Light Edition'' Monster Edition 3 - artwork.jpg|''Monster Edition #3'' Goosebumps_Post_Card_Book_-_artwork.png|''Goosebumps Postcard Book #1'' It_Came_From_Ohio!_-_artwork.jpg|''It Came from Ohio!'' Curly_in_a_library.png|Artwork used for promotional use. Goosebumps - HorrorLand at Disney Promo.jpg|''Goosebumps HorrorLand'' at Disney show promo artwork. Goosebumps_1995_Calendar_-_artwork.jpg|1995 calendar art. CurlyOnIce.png|1996 calendar art. CurlyCowboy.png|1997 calendar art. Goosebumps_1998_Calendar_-_artwork.jpg|1998 calendar art. Curly_profile_art.jpg|Profile shot Merchandise artwork 1995 wall calendar cover.jpg|1995 Wall Calendar 1996 wall calendar cover.jpg|1996 Wall Calendar 1997 wall calendar cover.jpg|1997 Wall Calendar 1998Calendar.jpg|1998 Wall Calendar Calendar.png|1997 Scare-A-Day calendar Goosebumps_1998_calendar.png|1998 Scare-A-Day calendar. Goosebumps_original_motion_picture_soundtrack.png|''Goosebumps Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' Scholastic artwork print_curly1.gif|Curly playing caps print_curly2.gif|Curly reading Curly baseball bw line art.gif|Curly playing baseball Merchandise Apparel CurlyShirt.jpg|T-Shirt Curly Readers Revenge Kreepsville shirt front.jpg|Readers' Revenge shirt Curly Skeleton Ride The Curl Goosebumps Shirt.jpg|Ride the Curl shirt GB Curly Ride the Curl sweatshirt front.jpg|'Ride the Curl' sweatshirt GB Curly Ride the Curl sweatshirt detail.jpg|'Ride the Curl' shirt detail Gives me GB Curly 90s T-shirt Aus CPE.jpg|R.L. Stine Gives me Goosebumps Curly 1995 Hallmark shirt.jpg|1995 Hallmark shirt Curly 1995 Hallmark shirt in package.jpg|1995 Hallmark shirt in package Goosebumps Sport The Fright Stuff Curly 1996 bball shirt f+b.jpg|The Fright Stuff Curly baseball tee Curly spiderweb reading book shirt front.jpg|Curly reading T-shirt Curly w glasses 1996 black T-shirt.jpg|T-shirt Curly Ghoul whos Too Cool T-shirt.jpg|'A Ghoul Who's Too Cool' T-shirt Curly surfing Alternative Air T-shirt detail.jpg|Surfing/Alternative Air T-shirt Curly Reading is a Scream T-shirt.jpg|Reading is a Scream T-shirt Curly Cuddles long underwear in pkg f+b.jpg|Long underwear CurlyHat.png|hat Goosebumps Spiderweb Curly hat 1996.jpg|Cap Curly grey beanie hat.jpg|Hat curly-halloween-costume.png|Curly Halloween costume Boo Dude Curly reading green fabric.jpg|Boo Dude! Master of Scaremonies fabric curly-digitalwatch.png|Digital watch Curly Spiderweb Nelsonic digital watch.jpg|Nelsonic digital watch Curly-hologram-watch.jpg|Hologram Watch Curly-enamel_pin.png|Enamel pin curly-hallmark-button.png|Hallmark button. Creepyco-patch-packaging-readerbeware.jpg|Iron On Patch Bags and Backpacks curly-hallmark-giftbag.png|Hallmark gift bag goosebumps-lunchbox-bag.png|Lunch bag (no tag) Curly Aladdin Lunch Bag with tag.jpg|Lunch Bag (with tag) Goosebumps Curly 90s blue backpack.jpg|Backpack Curly red purple sling backpack.jpg|Backpack Curly Vinyl B&W Pyramid tote bag.jpg|Vinyl Tote Bag Curly Vintage Hallmark Gift Bag Sack.jpg|Gift Bag Bookmarks Curly Goosemark MGA in pkg front.jpg|Goosemark in package Curly Goosemark bookmark unpkg.jpg|Goosemark bookmark (unpackaged) Curly holding place forever Antioch tabbed bookmark.jpg|Antioch Tabbed bookmark curly-bookmark.png|Antioch tasseled bookmark Curly Scaremonies Antioch bookmark shapemark front.jpg|Antioch shapemark bookmark School Supplies Curly Pen.jpg|Gruesome Pen Curly Spooky Sharpener in pkg.jpg|Spooky Sharpener Curly-scarystamper.jpg|Stamper Curly Gruesome Glue sticks in pkg front.jpg|Gruesome Glue Sticks Curly Creature Compass unpkg f+b.jpg|Creature Compass (front and back) Curly Creature Compass in pkg front.jpg|Curly Creature Compass in package curly-eraser.png|Curly eraser Curly Haunted Eraser in pkg.jpg|Haunted Eraser in package Curly spiral mini memo notepad Happiness Express.jpg|Memo notepad Curly ring Notebook w binder + folder pack.jpg|Notebook Curly Scaremony Sketch Pad.jpg|Scaremony Sketch Pad Trading Cards and Collectible Stickers Topps Trading Cards Series 1 Complete Set Box front.jpg|Topps Trading Cards Box curly-tradingcard-glowinthedark.png|Glow in the dark trading card. curly-tradingcard-glowinthedark-back.png|Glow in the dark trading card (back) Curly Boo Dude 1996 Merlin 5 textured sticker.jpg|Merlin sticker Curly Cool Ghoul 1996 Merlin 49 textured sticker.jpg|Merlin sticker 3 Curly Topps Foil Sticker.jpg|Topps Foil Sticker Lights curly-flashlight.png|Curly flashlight (packaged) Curly Flashlight unpkg.jpg|Flashlight (unpackaged) curly-booklight.png|Curly booklight curly-nightlight-boxed.png|Nightlight (packaged) curly-nightlight.png|Nightlight (unpackaged) Other curly-figure.jpg|Goosebumps Collectibles figure. curly-freakyface.jpg|Curly "Freaky Face" curly-giant freaky face.jpg|Curly "Giant Freaky Face" curly-shakin-creatures.png|Curly "Shakin' Creatures" curly-screamer.png|Curly "Screamer" Curly Screamer unpkg.jpg|Screamer (unpackaged) curly-spookspeakers.png|"Spooky Speakers" Curlymotioncreature.jpg|Motion Creature curly-flipface.png|Curly "Flip Face" curly-mummy-flipface.png|Curly/Mummy "Flip Face" (out of box) curly-bookend-boxed.jpg|Curly bookend curly-bookend.jpg|Curly bookend (out of box) goosebumps-walkie-talkie-curly-thehauntedmask.jpg|Curly and The Haunted Mask walkie-talkies. Curly Hallmark greeting card f+i.jpg|Hallmark Greeting Card curly-head-pillow.jpg|Curly plush pillow curly-mask.png|Rubber mask curly-voice-changing-mask.jpg|"Voice Changing" mask CurlysBrainBites.jpg|Curly's Brain Bites (sour apple flavor) Curlys Brain Bites Bubble Gum.jpg|Curly's Brain Bites (bubble gum flavor) Curlys Brain Bites pkg back.jpg|Curly's Brain Bites packaging (back) 1996-Vintage-1990s-Goosebumps-Haunted-Headstone-Tiger-Handheld.jpg|curly on the haunted headstone game. Goosebumps Sport Skateboard Curly Tales 1.jpg|Skateboard Pizza Hut Glow & Tell Card 1 Curly f+b.jpg|Pizza Hut Glow & Tell Card Curly Taco Bell Ceiling Sign 1996.jpg|Taco Bell sign Curly Keep Out promo doorknob hanger front.jpg|Doorknob hanger Curly Go Away promo doorknob hanger f+b.jpg|Doorknob hanger Tales 3 Stay Away Im Chilling Out Doorknob hanger.jpg|Doorknob hanger Gurglin Goosebumps Curly Stress ball Canada Games in pkg.jpg|Gurglin' stress ball Curly finger frights ring in box front.jpg|Finger Frights finger ring Curly Key Ring keychain in pkg Buy-Rite.jpg|Key Ring Curly Scaremonies 1996 comforter.jpg|Comforter Curly Ride the Curl 1996 towel.jpg|'Ride the Curl' Towel Curly 1996 Metallic Giant Sticker in pkg Sandylion.jpg|Giant Sticker Have Some Treats Curly Treat Sacks Party Express.jpg|Party Treat Sacks Goosebumps-1996puzzle.jpg|Glow-in-the-Dark Puzzle showing Curly on stage performing 3 Even More Tales 200 piece puzzle box front 1996 France.jpg|Puzzle CurlyPuzzle.png|3-D Stand-Up Puzzle Box Curly 3d Stand Up Puzzle inside.jpg|3-D Stand-Up Puzzle (inside) Curly Scaremonies 1997 glass cup f+b.jpg|Glass (part of 4-glass set) Curly Mummy Electronic Pinball Game Box front.jpg|Electronic Pinball Game box CurlyWallet.jpg|Wallet Curly Mummy Cuddles Tin.jpg|Tin Curly Book Storage Vault 1996 Hershey tin top.jpg|Book Storage Vault tin CoolGhoul.jpg|Cool Ghoul Card Game References Category:Monsters Category:Male Category:Living Skeletons Category:Characters Category:Recurring characters Category:Neutral Characters Category:Adults Category:Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween characters Category:Video Game Characters Category:Undead Category:Comic characters Category:Goosebumps Horrortown (Monsters)